Saturday, March 17, 2012

Cinnamon Sugar Cookie Bars with Irish Cream Buttercream

Joy the Baker was one of the first food blogs I fell in love with. Not only because she blogs about pancakes and cinnamon rolls and doughnuts, but also because she's hilarious and classy and completely relatable. I always get super excited when I see that she has a new post... even if it turns out to be about kale or chickpeas or cauliflower.

Joy recently released her first cookbook, and today she's going to be signing copies of it at Cakespy shop as part of her book tour! I'm so beyond excited to meet her... even though I'll probably say something really awkward and forget my name or something.

I suppose I should also mention that I made these amazing sugar cookie bars for St. Patrick's Day! Aaand in my usual style, I neglected to post them before the actual holiday. Forgive me?

Honestly, they're so simple you could definitely still make them today. But if you don't? Promise me you'll make them sometime soon. Irish cream is appropriate for lots of occasions other than St. Patrick's Day.

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a 13x18 inch pan with parchment paper and coat with nonstick spray.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter for about one minute at medium-high speed. Add the sugar, and continue creaming about one minute more. Add the eggs one at time, mixing well after each and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in three additions, mixing at low speed just until combined.

4. Press the cookie dough into the prepared pan, using a greased sheet of parchment paper to spread the dough evenly toward the edges. Use a toothpick to poke holes all over the top of the dough to prevent air bubbles from forming. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the center is set and the edges have just begun to brown. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

5. To make the frosting, cream the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer for about one minute at medium-high speed. In a separate bowl, combine the powdered sugar and salt. Add the sugar to the butter in three additions, mixing at low speed until all of the sugar is incorporated. Add the milk, vanilla, and Irish cream to the butter and sugar, and mix at low speed for about 30 seconds more. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for about two minutes, or until the frosting is light and fluffy.

6. Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled bars and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Cut into bars.